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House GOP postpones payroll vote

House leaders had hoped to vote down the Senate bill. | John Shinkle/POLITICO

After taking a long day’s beating from Democrats and a handful of Senate Republicans in the national media, House Republicans were eager to have their votes on the payroll tax cut cast during a fresh media cycle Tuesday, according to GOP insiders. They believe they can win the public relations battle with the Senate by showing that they are working on the issue while the Senate has adjourned for the year.

They also wanted to avoid being accused of killing the payroll tax cut under the cover of darkness.

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“These votes will take place tomorrow, in the light of day,” House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said before borrowing from Democrats’ 2006 “New Direction” slogan. “This is a new House, a new direction and a place that we really want to move America forward.”

House Republican leaders say they simply want the Senate to return to town to negotiate a compromise between an earlier House version of the payroll tax rate extension and the bill the Senate passed 89-10 on Saturday. Senate Democratic leaders have said they have no plans to do that and that Republicans will be held responsible if workers are forced to pay the Social Security tax rate that was in effect through 2010.

“In this economy, it would be reckless to accept the Senate’s take-it-or-leave-it two-month extension,” said Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.). “We’ve got 11 days left. I’ve seen bigger deals in shorter periods of time.”

But as House Republican leaders reworked their strategy late Monday night, some Washington Republicans challenged the wisdom of their tack — on both political and policy grounds.

Five Senate Republicans, four of whom are up for reelection in 2012, urged the House to vote for the Senate version of the payroll tax cut bill.

“The House Republicans’ plan to scuttle the deal to help middle-class families is irresponsible and wrong,” said Sen. Scott Brown, a moderate Massachusetts Republican. “The refusal to compromise now threatens to increase taxes on hard-working Americans and stop unemployment benefits for those out of work.”

Sens. Dean Heller of Nevada, Dick Lugar of Indiana and Olympia Snowe of Maine, all of whom are on the ballot next year, joined Brown.

One GOP strategist involved in campaigns told POLITICO that House Republicans are first among equals in taking the political risk that the tax rate, doctor reimbursements and unemployment benefits will expire amid congressional squabbling.

“The House Republicans are clearly choosing a far riskier path, but in this environment, every incumbent in both parties has exposure on this issue,” said the strategist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

But Republican leaders in the House had little choice but to move away from the Senate bill after a rancorous Saturday conference call in which they were threatened with rebellion if they pushed their rank-and-file colleagues to vote on that measure.

“The Republicans are not going to have their brand damaged by Democrats who are arguing for taxes once again and more spending and more regulations and killing jobs. It’s pretty clear what the fight’s about, and it ain’t about the [Social Security] tax, which the Republicans have all voted for extending.”

Except for all the Republicans in the House of Representatives.

GOP: Negotiating in bad faith and being led by a chaotic minority of your own caucus WILL damage your brand.

Why on earth would the Democrats, who somehow managed an overwhelmingly bipartisan bill in the Senate, return to negotiate in an atmosphere of brinksmanship?

All that this would do is allow the House Republicans to hold the Democrats hostage to ever escalating and unacceptable demands. We know what happens if the Senate returns. Republican policy riders of every type would be thrown in to try to force the Democrats to vote against the tax cut, so that Republicans could claim that the Democrats only want to raise taxes. Basically, it is a strategy of using the Democrats' unwillingness to let the government fall apart in order to extract incredible concessions. For the first time Democrats are in a position to say what the House keeps saying: pass the bill we just sent you.

I feel sorry for the Speaker...he has a tough job. There is no good way to spin this for the Republicans.

Yes, without thinking about the ground they lose trying to defeat Obama with the Global Community Watching our . . . ". . . beacon on a hill . . ." self destruct. Much of a Congress being minions for money from an assortment of "Power-Brokers" and 2 Supreme Court Justices Bought & Paid for by Koch to get the United Ruling.

Obama could have been defeated with an "Eisenhower-Republican Candidate" who knew when & where to Compromise, how Huge Infrastructure Partnership-Projects created jobs and how Social Issues were handled with Balance.

Ceste la vie, None of the Republican Candidates seem to be aware of having tried Trickle-Down 3 Times and failed means either take a step back to "Ike" or create a new model . . .

Have you ever wondered how your income tax bill compares to other nations in the world? Here's an examination of the tax levels of major world nations including the United States, showing which are paying the highest levels of personal taxes:

Okay folks, it is time to vote all these negative congress people out of office asap. What they are doing, or not doing, is simply ridiculous. I can't believe the absolute hatred the Republicans have for the President and any Democrat who does not agree with them. They actually disagree with themselves most of the time. The amount of money they make is sickening and they do absolutely nothing but argue with anyone just for the sake of keeping everyone on the edge for as long as possible. They act like a bunch of first graders. VOTE THEM OUT OF OFFICE. Actually a recall RIGHT NOW might help get things done sooner than waiting for another year. This is so sad.